Desi Wixson, 44 years old, a medical doctor practicing at a community clinic in rural west Michigan, takes classes at Smartshop Metal Arts Center.

Why do you take classes at Smartshop?

Classes at Smartshop challenge, inspire and relax me. When I am working on a project in the workshop none of my work or personal stresses interfere. I am engulfed by the process.

What is your favorite tool at Smartshop? And what's your favorite activity?

I guess the forge and a hammer would have to be my favorite tools. I love to take a piece of metal to a bright yellow heat and make it move. I love taking this cold hard seemingly impermeable material and shaping it to anything else but especially an organic shape.

I also get a very childish enjoyment out of throwing sparks when I grind something.

What was the most difficult thing to try, and how did Smartshop help you succeed?

Letting my own passion guide me was the most difficult thing for me. I am not inspired by the shapes of found objects and putting them together as much as I am by the material - steel - itself. Beyond the skills Smartshop has given me most importantly I feel welcome to express myself anyway.

What kinds of things do you like to make? What inspires you to make them?

I like to make organic shapes, specifically HUGE metal flowers. I love flowers and have always been inspired by the passion Georgia O'Keefe put into her paintings. I would like to do the same thing with my metal flowers.

How many projects have you completed at Smartshop and which is your favorite?

I have completed 3 large flowers and a few other small projects. My favorites are my Kevin desk name plate because it sucks so badly and my Cystic Fibrosis Auction Flower because I finally felt my skills starting to gel.

Do you have a background in art or metalworking, or when you started were you a novice in either or both of these activities?

My only art background in art is a couple of sculpture classes (mainly stone and clay) in college and I like to craft - knitting mainly.

Through taking classes at Smartshop, what have you learned about yourself and what you are capable of accomplishing?

I'm more physically brave than I realized. I've never been a sporty outdoors type though I've never minded getting really dirty.

The classes that Desi has taken at Smartshop Metal Arts Center include Intro to Welding and Intermediate Metals -- six times.